


Practice

by Archangelsanonymous (Pattypixie)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Asexual Castiel (Supernatural), Baking, Bisexual Sam Winchester, Coffee Shops, Craigslist, Dirty Thoughts, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Family Drama, First Meetings, Fluff and Angst, Gabriel Monthly Challenge, M/M, Masturbation Interruptus, Mild Language, Pansexual Gabriel, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2019-04-06 08:01:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14052516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pattypixie/pseuds/Archangelsanonymous
Summary: **For the March Gabriel Monthly Challenge**Gabriel needs a date to his high school reunion, so where better to advertise than Craigslist? The person who responds is not at all who he was expecting and he isn't sure he'll be able to keep feelings out of it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ayyy I did the thing. Enjoy.  
> There may be more chapters, but this is it for now.

               This was ridiculous. Gabriel had absolutely no reason to be as nervous as he did. People did this all the time, right? I mean, this kind of thing practically had its own category on Craigslist. He took another shaky sip of the coffee he had ordered to calm himself before the predetermined meeting of the person that was going to be posing as his partner for his high school reunion. Internally, Gabriel chastised himself. Who the hell orders coffee to calm down? Soon, a hand came into his vision and he looked up, almost choking on the gorgeousness of the person it was attached to.

               “Are you Gabriel?”

               Gabriel quickly set down his coffee and stood up, his height being dwarfed by the massiveness of the man standing in front of him. “Uh, I—Yes,” he took the man’s hand and shook it. “You’re Sam?”

               “That’s me,” Sam smiled and Gabriel was pretty sure his knees were going to give out.

               “You’re not what I was expecting,” Gabriel smiled back nervously. Sam’s face dropped a bit and Gabriel waved his hands. “No! I mean, I was expecting a girl, that’s all.”

               Sam put his hands in his pockets and nodded. “You’re straight. Got it.”

               “GOD NO,” Gabriel stated, a little loudly. The rest of the shop fell silent and Gabriel flushed a little. “I’ve been out since I was a freshman. Pan, actually. You’re just…incredibly out of my league.”

               Sam chuckled a little. “I doubt that, but how about I grab a coffee then we can talk details. The reunion is on Friday, right?”

               “Yeah,” Gabriel confirmed. Sam walked away to get in line and Gabriel finally felt air return to his lungs. Holy shit, Sam was gorgeous. Tall and handsome with legs that went on for days, and eyes that made Gabriel want to carry a map for safety. Thank God he wouldn’t need to pretend being head over heels in love; he practically was already.

               Gabriel had returned to his seat by the time Sam came back and folded himself into the chair opposite. “So,” Sam pulled out a small notepad and a pen, “let’s start basics. How long have we been together?”

               “Are you taking notes?” Gabriel asked, awed. “Do you do this a lot? Are you a professional fake relationship-er?”

               Sam grinned, still looking down at what he was writing. “No. I’m a law student, so I ask a lot of questions and take a lot of notes.”

               “Law student? So, you’re in it for the money,” Gabriel nodded knowingly, as if he had uncovered a huge secret.

               “Um,” Sam looked up at Gabriel, confused, “yes? That’s the point, right? I pretend to be your boyfriend and you pay me.”

               Gabriel blushed a little and took a sip of his coffee. “Yeah, duh. I was just…you know, whatever.” He shrugged. “Anyway, how long? How about three years?”

               “That sounds good,” Sam wrote a little.

               “How did we meet?” Gabriel asked, kind of excited about planning out his fake history with his fake boyfriend.

               “Let’s make it simple,” Sam smirked. “We met in a coffee shop. The closer the lie is to the truth, the easier it is to tell.”

               “Oh, you are good,” Gabriel grinned.

               Sam leaned forward a bit with his small smile, and Gabriel was tempted to meet him in the middle. “I’m just getting started. Who made the first move?”

               “You,” Gabriel decided. “I second guess myself in relationships. I wouldn’t know if someone liked me if they were holding up a neon sign that said ‘Please date me Gabriel’.”

               “Neon sign. Noted,” Sam wrote a little more. “I’m guessing I said that I loved you first, too?”

               “Is three years long enough for that?” Gabriel cocked his head a little.

               Sam’s eyes widened. “Have you never been in a relationship long enough to say that?”

               Gabriel flushed and looked down at his coffee. Maybe it was kind of embarrassing. He wanted to say that it wasn’t his fault that people never stuck around that long, but if you meet an asshole in the morning…he sighed. “I’ve never really gotten to that point, I guess. I’m just too much awesome for people to handle, yeah?” He looked back up with a forced smile on his face. “You?”

               “Yeah,” it was Sam’s turn to look down. He fiddled with the edge of his notebook. “I was gonna marry her, but she died.”

               Gabriel could feel the emotional weight settle between them as they sat in silence for a moment. “I—” he cleared his throat as he broke the silence. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

               “Thanks,” Sam took a deep breath, then looked up at Gabriel with a sad smile. “It’s been a few years, so I’m alright now…well, as alright as I’ll ever be.” He shifted in his chair a bit, then turned his attention back to Gabriel. “Let’s get back to this though. I’m gonna say I said that I loved you a year in. How about, you hesitated and didn’t say it back, so it turned into a big fight until you yelled it at me. Good?”

               “Wow. That would be an awesome story,” Gabriel bit his lip, “except that I don’t yell.” He shrugged. “Rough childhood. What if…you said it, I didn’t say it back, then like after a week of not talking, I showed up to your place with some grand romantic gesture? I’m thinking...flowers, balloons, and probably a  giant Cost-Co sized teddy bear that I’d eventually steal for myself. That’s very me.”

               Sam’s smile brightened. “And that’s exactly the kind of thing that would get me to forgive you.” He wrote it down and scanned his notes. “Let’s see…Did we get our own place when we moved in together, or did I move in with you?”

               “Uh,” Gabriel looked blankly at Sam. “That happens in three years, too?”

               “Oh, man,” Sam sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

               “Shit,” Gabriel breathed. “Listen, Samboni, I know I’m probably way more of a project than you expected to take on. Do you want me to pay you more? Or, you can just walk away; I won’t mind. I get that I’m—“

               “Hey,” Sam leaned forward and placed his hand on top of one of Gabriel’s. “Relax, okay? You put out an ad on Craigslist asking for someone to pretend to be in a relationship with you. I didn’t come into this thinking it was going to be easy. Honestly, I think it’s going to work out really well.” Sam smiled and Gabriel felt all the anxiety leave his body as he focused on Sam’s thumb rubbing the top of his hand. He never had anyone able to calm him so quickly.

               “Thanks,” Gabriel smiled back and tried not to move, in case it caused Sam to stop touching him.

               “Yeah,” Sam’s voice sounded far off as he looked into Gabriel’s eyes. Was that gold? After a few moments, he realized he was staring and quickly retracted his hand and looked away. “Sorry. Um,” a blush crawled up Sam’s cheeks and he cleared his throat. “I have a crazy idea if you think it’d help.”

               Gabriel missed Sam’s touch, but retracted his hand as well. “Let’s hear it.”

               “How about…” Sam bit his lip. “What if I stay at your place until Friday? It’d be a great way to get to know and be comfortable around each other.” He looked up at Gabriel nervously.

               “Uh,” Gabriel blinked a few times in amazement. Sam. In his apartment. For the next five days. Sleeping in his apartment. Eating in his apartment. _Showering_ in _his_ apartment.

               Sam looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s a stupid idea. Forget I—“

               “Yes,” Gabriel blurted out. Sam looked back and raised an eyebrow. “I mean—yes, come stay with me. Just no murdering me, or bringing other people back to murder. It’s too messy, and I want the security deposit back.”

               Sam’s face lit up and he grinned. “Yeah, I think I can handle that. Let’s do it.”

               “Here,” Gabriel held out his hands for Sam’s notepad and pen. “This is my address.” He wrote it down and then handed it back to Sam. “Go get your stuff, then meet me at home and we can grab some grub.”

               “Okay,” Sam stood up, looking at the address. “I’ll be there in like, an hour?”

               “Perfect,” Gabriel stood up as well. “See you then, kiddo.” Sam shrugged his bag onto his shoulder and flashed one more smile up at Gabriel before heading out of the coffee shop. Gabriel’s heart finally dropped from his throat, and he took one more sip of coffee. He had trouble believing that this was actually happening. Sam was going to be coming over to _his_ place in an hour. Gabriel’s eyes suddenly widened in panic. _His place in one hour_. He practically bolted out of the coffee shop and ran the two blocks to his apartment building where he immediately doubled over, panting. Fuck his lack of exercise regimen. Once Gabriel regained his breath, he climbed up the stairs to his second floor apartment and swung the door open…as far as it would go at least. He snuck in through the two-foot wide opening, and closed the door behind him before scanning his apartment.

               To say Gabriel’s apartment was a mess would be the understatement of the year. If he was being honest, it looked a lot like he had been robbed…every night for a week. Where the fuck was he even supposed to start? After several moments of panicking, he decided on getting the trash together first. Two full to bursting bags later, he quickly went to work throwing all of his dirty clothing into a hamper, and then in the hamper’s general direction once it was full. Once that was managed-ish, he gathered up all of the dirty dishes he had strewn about the apartment, and stuffed them into the dishwasher. After searching around for the soap pods, he gave up and just decided to take care of it later. Sam wouldn’t look in his dishwasher—Gabriel looked back at it—Would he? He shook his head. It didn’t matter right now anyway. Quickly, he pulled out his phone to check the time and saw he had about fifteen minutes before Sam was expected to show up. Mentally, Gabriel patted himself on the back for the fantastic time he was making. He went back to straightening up and once he decided that his front room was as presentable as it was gonna get, he grabbed a bottle of Febreze and sprayed everything he could see until the room smelled overwhelmingly of hibiscus. When he finished, he took a step back and looked at his work, grinning. Now, Sam would have no idea that Gabriel was actually the messiest being in existence. There was no way he was going to get anywhere with Sam unless the foundation was at least 25% lies.

               Gabriel had just sat down on his couch, cringing at the damp layer of air freshener that it was coated in, when the buzzer for the building entrance went off. He scrambled to his feet, threw open his door, and quickly ran down the stairs to meet Sam. After dusting off some invisible dirt and flattening out his tee-shirt, he opened the door.

               “Hey,” Sam greeted, smiling with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder.

               “Looks like you found it alright,” Gabriel mentioned casually, stepping to the side to let Sam in. “Come on, let me give you the tour.” He started up the stairs in front of Sam, and led him to his apartment. A flush came upon his cheeks when he realized he had left the door open, but he gestured to it, letting Sam walk in first.

               “Wow,” Sam looked around the front room. “Smells like you just Febreze-d.”

               “Way to call me out, Samster,” Gabriel grinned and closed the door behind Sam. “So, here’s the living area. It’s attached to the kitchen on your right. Bathroom is down the hall on the right and my bedroom is at the end of the hall. Is the couch okay?”

               “It should fit me,” Sam smiled and set his bag down at the end of the couch, then looked up at Gabriel. “I think I remember talk of food?”

               “Got a taste for anything?” Gabriel asked, leaning against his island counter.

               Sam shrugged. “I’ll eat anything, but I prefer something a bit healthy.”

               Gabriel twisted his mouth in thought, then smiled when he got an idea. “If you’re up for staying in, I know a rad sushi place that delivers.”

               “Sushi?” Sam’s eyes widened. “I can’t afford that.”

               “I’m paying, dorkfish,” Gabriel scoffed, pulling out his cellphone. “Now, what do you want?”

               Sam rattled off his preference and Gabriel put in the order, being sure to _accidentally_ order a little more than Sam had asked for. Once it was confirmed, Gabriel grabbed two beers from the fridge, then crossed over to sit down on the couch and Sam joined him.

               “First things first,” Gabriel started, turning on the TV. “Let’s test your nerd level, because I’ve been one since high school and no one will believe I’m with someone that isn’t. What Star Wars movies have you seen?”

               “All of them, obviously,” Sam scoffed, opening his beer. “Lord of the Rings?”

               “I was at every midnight release,” Gabriel bragged. “Harry Potter.”

               “The books were better. I’m a Ravenclaw,” Sam countered. “Marvel or DC?”

               Gabriel brought a hand to his chest and faux gasped. “How can you even ask that?”

               Sam grinned and seemed to relax. “This is getting to be a lot easier than I expected.” He took a drink of his beer and Gabriel watched his throat work to swallow.

               “Yeah…” Gabriel caught himself and turned back to the TV. “Well, I’ve been in the middle of binge-watching Hell’s Kitchen. Any arguments?”

               “Nah,” Sam shook his head, leaning back on the couch. “Chef Ramsey is hot when he yells.”

               “THANK YOU!” Gabriel threw up his hands. “Like for real, if they stuck me in there, I’d be sporting a chub the entire competition.”

               Sam chuckled and took another drink as Gabriel turned on the episode that he had left off on (the middle of season seven). Once the episode started, Gabriel sat back as well, but Sam noticed his posture was still pretty tense. It was like he was trying to keep as much distance as he could between him and Sam. Of course. Sam bit his lip. Gabriel didn’t actually like him. He was just someone for Gabriel to parade around at his reunion, then pay and forget about. Never mind that he saw Gabriel’s picture on that stupid posting, and immediately knew that he had to meet him. Something about the man drew him in and every time Sam looked at him, he got the same feeling of wanting to be closer. He looked back at the screen, but even the drama of Hell’s Kitchen couldn’t hold him for long. His arm itched to reach out for the other man and pull him close. He moved the arm closest to Gabriel and stretched it out on the backrest of the couch, hoping it wouldn’t be noticed. Sam snuck a glance and saw that Gabriel was too engrossed in the episode to catch the movement, and Sam relaxed, glad to have that small distance cut down a little.

               Gabriel stared at the TV, hyperaware of every single one of Sam’s movements, and kept as still as possible to avoid scaring him. The dude was as big as a moose, so maybe he would be startled like one. That made sense, right? He took a drink of his beer as casually as possible, relieved when Sam didn’t move. God, his hand was RIGHT THERE, and if he shifted a couple inches closer, Gabriel was sure that he’d be able to feel the heat from it on his shoulder. If he was being honest, he wanted to just climb across the couch and fall into Sam’s arms so he could feel his heat all over his body. Gabriel wasn’t sure what he had expected when he had posted that listing, but Sam was not it, and it kinda scared him. He was completely ready to hire someone he had absolutely no attraction to, swap some info, and make it through the reunion before forgetting about them for the rest of his life. But, Sam…There was no way he was forgetting Sam.

               The episode was just wrapping up when the buzzer sounded again. Gabriel quickly leapt to his feet to catch his breath after spending so much time next to Sam. He grabbed his wallet off the counter, and flashed a grin at Sam before heading down to retrieve their delivery. Once the food was paid for, her carefully carried the full-to-bursting bags back to the apartment. Luckily, Sam was there at the door, ready to help. Honestly, Gabriel could get used to the sight of Sam standing in the doorway of his apartment, so sweet and domestic.

              “How much did you order?” Sam awed, taking a bag and setting it on the counter to rifle through. Gabriel kicked the door closed and shrugged.

              “Enough to make it through the rest of the season, at least,” Gabriel brought his bag over to the coffee table in front of the sofa and set it down. “Grab a couple more beers and bring that bag over here. No need to be civilized if it’s just us.” He sat down and pulled out a piece of sashimi, popping it in his mouth.

             Sam grinned and grabbed two more beers out of the the fridge. He gathered up the bag from the counter and brought it over to set next to Gabriel’s. Sam took the opportunity to sit closer to Gabriel than he had been before. Their legs weren’t quite touching but Sam swore he could feel the heat from Gabriel’s thigh radiating onto his.

            “Start it back up!” Sam nudged Gabriel. “The next episode is supposed to be the most shocking one yet.”

             “They say that all the time,” Gabriel explained, complying and turning Hell’s Kitchen back on. “Sometimes I actually am shocked but it’s not that often. I got this shit on lock.” He started to pull out the food and divide it up between his and Sam’s. The fact that Sam was closer to him didn’t pass his attention and he fantasized a little that Sam had done it deliberately.

             As the show went on and the food dwindled, both started to relax against the back of the couch. Two beers wasn’t enough to get either of them drunk, but it gave each of them a warm feeling that intensified every time they glanced at each other. Sam finally mustered up the courage to wrap his arm around Gabriel’s shoulders, and Gabriel froze.

            “Oh,” Sam pulled his arm back a little, “sorry. I was just...um, practicing.” He hoped the excuse would work and he let out a breath when he saw Gabriel relax.

             “Yeah, of course,” Gabriel grabbed Sam’s wrist and pulled his arm back over. “Practice is...it’s good. We need practice.” He decided to test what Sam was comfortable with by inching closer and closer until he was leaning against Sam’s chest.

              Sam was sure that Gabriel could feel his heart beating out of his skin, but vowed to keep his composure. “This is kinda nice, actually.”

             Gabriel was trying every trick in the book to keep his breath steady and keep Sam from knowing how flustered he was. “Yeah. Say, who do you think is going home this episode?”

            “Um,” Sam’s eyes widened. He hadn’t been paying any attention to that was on the screen and said the name of the next person he saw on screen. “Benjamin? He’s been messing up a lot.”

            “Yeah, maybe,” Gabriel was glad one of them was paying attention to the show, because he was far more focused on how warm San’s chest felt against his back. He tried his best not to be greedy and back himself up even further against Sam, but it was growing difficult.

            Sam’s fingers twitched as they dangled from there he had his arm slung over Gabriel. This was practice, right? There was a chance that maybe they could practice something else like…”Gabriel?”

           “Yeah?” Gabriel answered, quickly coming out of his daze.

           “Just so I know, when you’re with someone,” Sam cleared his throat a little, “is there a lot of PDA?”

           “Like hugging?”

           “Or kissing.”

           Gabriel was sure his heart was beating fast enough to induce cardiac arrest. “Uh, I mean,”--Fuck, he didn’t want to seem too eager--”They've got to be hot if I'm with them and I'd want to appreciate that wherever so,” he swallowed hard, “I guess there’s PDA, yeah.”

            Sam couldn’t believe he was about to do it, but it was worth a shot. “Well, since we’re practicing...maybe we could practice that.” Gabriel sat up and Sam was sure he was being rejected, and possibly kicked out, until Gabriel turned around to face him.

            “If you think it will help...” Gabriel bit his bottom lip and quirked up one corner of his mouth.

            Sam sat up and moved a little closer to Gabriel, the television completely forgotten. “Are you sure you want to--”

            “Yes,” Gabriel blurted out, then flushed slightly. “Better to get it over with, right?”

            “Yeah,” Sam’s heart dropped a little with Gabriel’s comment. “I mean if it sucks, then…”

            Gabriel leaned closer. “It won’t suck.”

            Sam moved in as well, close enough to bump Gabriel’s nose a bit. “One way to find out.”

          “Yeah,” Gabriel breathed, closing his eyes and trusting Sam would close the gap soon. They were so close and he was sure he couldn’t wait much longer.

          Sam hesitated only slightly, but moved forward and gently pressed his lips against Gabriel’s. They were softer than he had imagined and he could still faintly smell his aftershave. Far too soon, he pulled away, allowing Gabriel to decide what he thought. Sam watched as Gabriel’s eyes slowly opened.

          “That didn’t suck,” Gabriel smirked. “But maybe we should make sure.”

           Sam flashed a smile, then leaned back in, this time with more purpose. He brought a hand up to cradle Gabriel’s jaw and brought their mouths back together. Gabriel immediately opened up to Sam and couldn’t help but moan into his mouth. The sound seemed to spur Sam on and he wrapped an arm around Gabriel’s waist, pulling him closer. Gabriel clung to Sam’s shoulders, needing to ground himself somehow from completely drowning in Sam.

           This time, when Sam pulled away, they were both flushed and panting through swollen lips. He was sure that Gabriel looked even more amazing this way. He grinned and felt emotion bloom in his chest when Gabriel returned it.

            “Practice, huh?” Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

            “It was a good excuse,” Sam licked his lips. “Do I still need one?”

            “Never again,” Gabriel confirmed, leaning back in to ‘practice’ again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FOR THE RECORD, YOU ASKED FOR IT. YOU ALL ASKED FOR THIS.

             After several moments of kissing, Gabriel forced himself to pull away. This wasn’t right. Sam didn’t know what he was getting into with Gabriel. It felt wrong trying to take advantage. Sam tried to chase after him, but Gabriel turned his head to the side, leaving Sam confused.

               “Are you okay?” Sam asked, concerned. “Did I do something wrong?”

               Gabriel shook his head. “No, you’re perfect.” He sighed and rubbed his thumbs along Sam’s clavicle.

               “Then what is it?” Sam tightened his grip on Gabriel’s waist, worried he had changed his mind.

               “I just…” Gabriel sighed and looked up, tears stinging his eyes. “Maybe this isn’t a good idea.”

               “That doesn’t make sense,” Sam tried to pull Gabriel close again with the hand on his neck. “Come back here...”

               “No,” Gabriel pushed Sam away and got off of the couch. “It’s fucked, right? I mean, I just met you today and now you’re practically moving in.” He ran a hand through his hair and let out a huff of nervous laughter. Maybe if he laid it all out, Sam would find his own reasons to stop this before it began.

               Sam followed him up off the couch. “Gabriel, I’m not moving in. It’s only until Friday. If you don’t want me to stay here, I don’t have to.”

               Gabriel crossed his arms protectively over his chest and walked over to the kitchen. “You probably shouldn’t. It was impulse.” He squeezed his eyes shut as he realized what he had to say. “I just figured that I could get laid by a nice piece of ass if you did.”

               Sam clenched his fists. “You don’t mean that.”

               “You don’t know me!” Gabriel whipped around and faced Sam. “You met me 3 hours ago!”

               “I like to think I’m a better judge of character than that,” Sam scoffed.

               “Well, you thought wrong,” Gabriel sneered, facing away again. “Get out of here, Sam. I’ll find someone else to take on Friday.”

               Sam walked up to Gabriel and grabbed his arm, turning him around. “I’ll leave for now, but I’m taking you to this thing. You can lie to yourself all you want, but I’m not wrong about you.” He let go of Gabriel’s arm. “Meet me at the coffee shop tomorrow. 10am. We have more stuff to go over.” Tearing himself away from Gabriel, Sam grabbed his duffel up off the floor and walked out, slamming the door behind him.

               Gabriel flinched at the slam, and let out a shaky breath. He rubbed his arms, then walked over to the coffee table to start cleaning up. Halfway through picking up a plate, he stopped and dropped his hand. It was pointless. The TV had stopped a few seconds into the episode that they were on and was asking if anyone was still watching. Gabriel crawled onto the couch and curled up where Sam was sitting, sure he could still smell the man on his cushions. He picked up the remote and turned the TV back on, hoping to distract himself from the world. It was all he could hope for.

 

               Sam got back to his dorm room and threw his bag on his bed, not sure if he was more frustrated at Gabriel or himself. He knew that Gabriel wasn’t that kind of person. If he just wanted to get laid, he could have his pick of anyone. It just didn’t make sense. Everything was going well…

               “Are you alright?”

               He turned to see his roommate, Cas, sitting at his desk. Sam hadn’t even noticed him, he was so upset. “Yeah, sorry.”

               “I’m guessing things didn’t go well,” Cas presumed, turning around in his chair and pushing his dark, messy hair back.

               “It’s complicated,” Sam sighed, sinking down onto his bed.

               “It always is,” Cas smirked. “Exactly why I avoid the whole myriad of it.”

               Sam rolled his eyes. “Enough with your ‘holier-than-thou’ asexuality speech.”

               Cas held up a finger. “In the eyes of the church, I’m essentially a saint.”

               “Celibacy is not the same as lack of sexual attraction,” Sam corrected. “You’re not making a sacrifice.”

               “They don’t have to be made aware of that,” Cas shrugged. “But anyway, what happened?”

               Sam dropped his head into his hands. “I don’t even know. We were watching Hell’s Kitchen, I tri—“

               “What season?”

               “Does it matter?”

               “It might,” Cas raised an eyebrow. “Some seasons are far more sexually charged than others.”

               “It was seven, I think,” Sam shrugged. Cas hummed as if he understood everything so much clearer, and motioned for him to go on. “Anyway, I put my arm around him and it was really nice, then I suggested we practice kissing…then we did and it was going really well, then he just kicked me out.”

               “Huh,” Cas cocked his head. “That’s odd. I mean, season seven has Holli and Jay. It is clearly the most sexually charged.”

               Sam groaned and laid back on his bed. “I don’t think it was the season, Cas.”

               “I don’t see any other reason why things would have gone badly,” Cas offered. “Aesthetically, you’re a very attractive human being. If I were so inclined, I would be proud to have you take me in a manly fashion.”

               “Thanks?” Sam chuckled, still staring up at the ceiling. “I don’t know, man. I told him that I still planned to take him to his reunion. He kept telling me what a bad person he was, but he isn’t. I know it.”

               “My cousin’s reunion is the same one, I believe,” Cas mentioned. “I can ask him about this man, if you desire.”

               “I appreciate it, but I’ll figure him out on my own,” Sam smiled softly. “I’m not wrong. I just have to prove it to him.”

***

               Sam sat at the table that he had met Gabriel at the day before, trying to avoid looking at the door every few seconds to see if he was coming. It wouldn’t surprise him at all if Gabriel just blew him off. He was trying to convince Sam and himself that he was a bad person, and showing up wouldn’t exactly be conducive to that. Sam stared at his coffee instead, trying to keep his eyes off the door. After a few minutes, he noticed someone drop into the other chair at the table and he looked up.

               “You came,” Sam sighed, smiling at Gabriel.

               “Yeah, well,” Gabriel slouched in his chair and crossed his arms, “I didn’t want to go through the effort of trying to find someone else.” He looked away and sniffed. “So, what else do we need to go over?”

               Sam pulled out his notepad and pen. He couldn’t expect anything more from Gabriel apart from showing up. At the moment, he was purposely trying to be difficult. “We need to work a little more knowing each other. We don’t even know basic stuff.”

               “I think I know enough to get by,” Gabriel rolled his eyes.

               “Yeah?” Sam smirked. “What’s my favorite color?”

               Gabriel narrowed his eyes. “Green.”

               “Wrong,” Sam shrugged.

               “Red.”

               “Nope.”

               “Turquoise.”

               “Nuh-uh.”

               “It better not be black or white,” Gabriel pointed a finger at Sam. “Those aren’t colors.”

               “Well, it’s not either,” Sam leaned back. “Get through the rest of this week, and maybe I’ll tell you.”

               “Whatever,” Gabriel scoffed. “I don’t even care.” He did care. A lot.

               “Why don’t we just go through a brief rundown of our own history for each other,” Sam suggested. “I’ll even start.”

               “Alright,” Gabriel conceded. How bad could _Law-Student-Sam’s_ life be anyway?

               “Well, my mom died when I was six months old,” Sam started, and Gabriel’s eyes widened. “My dad raised my brother and me, but we moved around a lot. Dad was kind of an alcoholic, but with mom dying, it couldn’t really be helped. Dean, my brother, was the one who really took care of me. He’s about four years older. He barely made it through high school because he was working to support me, and then started at the auto shop just after graduation. Once I graduated and got a scholarship, I tried to convince him not to support me anymore but,” Sam looked down and smiled, “he just told me that he couldn’t stop being my big brother and that was that. I met Jess about two years into school and, I already told you what happened there. Haven’t really dated since.” He looked back up at Gabriel. “That’s the cliff notes.”

               “Jesus fuck,” Gabriel blurted out. “Sorry, it’s just…wow, dude.”

               Sam shrugged. “It’s not so bad. A lot of people have it worse.”

               “Hey,” Gabriel leaned forward. “Just because other people have it worse doesn’t make your fucked up life any less valid.”

               “Yeah,” Sam chuckled a little. “It _is_ a little fucked up, huh?”

               “Um, yeah,” Gabriel smiled. “I mean, I thought mine was bad, but it’s mainly just stupid family drama where everyone fights and it’s just better to run away like I did and live off the minimum allowance that my dad’s attorney gives me each month.”

               “Allowance?” Sam raised an eyebrow. “You’re rich?”

               Gabriel shifted in his seat a bit. “Technically? I mean, I doubt I’m even in the will, so if my dad dies, I’m screwed.”

               “Do you even have a job?” Sam asked, incredulously.

               Gabriel frowned. “I mean, not right now. I’ve had jobs, it’s just…I’m not good at having a job.” He blushed and looked away. “It’s not like I need one anyway. It just gets in the way.”

               “Oh, you have hobbies?” Sam assumed, interested.

               “I…” Gabriel huffed and stood up. “I think that’s enough for today.”

               “Wait!” Sam held up his hand and stood up slowly. “I was thinking…maybe we could revisit that staying with you thing.”

               “What?” Gabriel looked confused. “Why? Are you actually homeless or something?”

               Sam flashed a glare at Gabriel. “No. I live in the dorms, but I still think cohabitating will help us get to know each other better.”

               “Still on that?” Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Fine. Whatever. You’re gonna hate it, so remember that I told you so.”

               Sam grinned and grabbed his duffel from behind his chair. “Let’s go.”

               Gabriel eyed the bag. “Did you even unpack?”

               “Nah,” Sam smirked. “I knew you’d say yes.”

               Gabriel frowned and turned around to walk out of the shop with Sam in tow. He couldn’t say he was mad that Sam wanted to stay with him still. It’d be nice to have Sam around, but it was frustrating that he didn’t understand how horrible of an idea it was to be with Gabriel. Well, there was still four days until the reunion. Gabriel smirked. He could make Sam’s life hell. Bring it on, big boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry not sorry.


	3. Chapter 3

Gabriel groaned as he woke up to the sound of a blender. Did he even own a blender? Assuming he did, who the hell was blending things at—Gabriel reached for his phone and squinted at the time—7:30 AM? Were people even legally allowed to be awake before 10? Slowly, he remembered that he had brought Sam back last night, and that he had agreed to let him stay until the reunion. The plan was going all wrong. He was supposed to be bothering Sam, not the other way around. Gabriel threw back the covers and stumbled out of his bedroom, only clad in boxers and an old tee-shirt.

“What the hell are you—“ Gabriel’s ability to use words stopped as soon as he saw Sam in his kitchen, shirtless, with nothing but a pair of basketball shorts on.

“Did I wake you up?” Sam winced. “Sorry. I forgot to make my morning smoothie last night.” He turned back to the blender, unhooking it and pouring the contents into a bottle. “I’m headed out for my run, so you can go back to sleep. I’ll be quiet coming back in.”

Gabriel opened his mouth, about to tell Sam to take the apartment key off of his keyring, but then closed it with a smile. If he didn’t have an apartment key, he couldn’t get back in. Maybe Sam would get the picture then. “Yeah, alright. Have a good run.”

Sam smiled and grabbed his smoothie from the counter. “See you later.” He grabbed his phone from the coffee table and headed out the door.

Gabriel turned back around and collapsed onto his bed. After just a few minutes, he drifted back off, content that his sleep wouldn’t be interrupted again.

 

Gabriel was going to rip the buzzer system out of his wall. Fuck the security deposit. As the unceasing sound resonated through the apartment, he scrambled out of bed to see who the hell woke him up.

“WHAT,” he shouted once he pressed the intercom.

“Hey, I forgot to ask for a key,” Sam’s voice came crackling out of the speaker. “Can you buzz me in?”

Gabriel’s forehead made a satisfying thunk against the wall and he groaned. His plan had backfired spectacularly. Begrudgingly, he hit the button to buzz Sam in, then turned and sunk to the floor beside the intercom, back against the wall. Footsteps thudded up the stairs and then he heard the door open.

“Thanks, I—Gabriel?” Sam closed the door behind him and knelt down. “Are you okay?”

“Fan-fucking-tastic,” Gabriel sighed, rubbing his eyes with his index and thumb.

“Oh shit, I woke you up again, didn’t I?” Sam frowned. “I’m so sorry. I should have thought about the key. Go on and go back to bed. I’ll be quiet the rest of the time, I swear.”

“Its fine,” Gabriel waved him off and got up. “I’m pretty awake now.”

Sam backed off and went to the kitchen. “Well, I’ll make breakfast. It’s the least I can do.” He opened the fridge and paused. “Uh, Gabriel? Do you have  _ any _ food?”

“Yeah,” Gabriel scoffed, heading toward the couch. “I just went grocery shopping.”

“I mean, besides beer, Red Bull, mineral water, cheese, summer sausage, and salsa,” Sam corrected.

“There’s more in the cupboard,” Gabriel shrugged, sinking down into the sofa.

Sam opened the cupboards and his eyes widened. One cupboard was full of Spaghetti-o’s, Hormel chili, Kraft mac and cheese, shrimp flavored ramen, and several bags of chips. The other cupboard was somehow worse, stocked with nothing but Slim Jims and Cheese-its. He closed the cupboards and turned back to Gabriel. “How are you alive?”

“What?”

“That’s all you eat?”

“I eat out sometimes,” Gabriel turned his body to face Sam. “Why?”

Sam blinked a few times trying to process the fact that an actual, 28-year-old man survived on junk food, beer, and Red Bull. “Alright. We’re going to the store.”

“Ugh. It’s not my fault you don’t like my food,” Gabriel whined.

“You’re right,” Sam agreed. “But if you’re not gonna give me a key, you’re gonna have to come with me.”

Gabriel frowned and stood up. “Fine.” He went back into his room to throw on some pants and a hoodie. When he came out, Sam had put a shirt and hoodie on as well. “Let’s go get your rabbit food, then.”

Sam smiled at Gabriel in the slightly oversized hoodie he was sporting. He just looked so soft and all Sam wanted to do was gather him up in his arms and kiss him. That would have to wait, though. He looked away and opened the front door as Gabriel put on his shoes. “Trust me. You’ll love my cooking.”

Gabriel raised an eyebrow at Sam as he passed him in the doorway, but was kind of excited at the idea of Sam cooking for him. He’d never had someone cook for him just to do it. Sure, growing up rich meant that they had a personal chef, but they were paid to do it. He wondered if Sam’s food would taste better.

 

It was a quick walk to the store, and Sam grabbed a basket once they entered. He bee-lined to the produce section and Gabriel groaned. Sam better not expect him to eat vegetables. Fruit he could deal with, but veggies was a whole other thing.

“Oh, do you like broccoli?” Sam asked, turning to look at Gabriel who was openly cringing at it. “Of course you don’t…Carrots?” Gabriel made the universal gesture for ‘sort of’ with his hand and Sam sighed. “Any vegetables you  _ do _ like?”

“Uh…Tomatoes?” Gabriel offered.

“That’s technically a fruit,” Sam smirked.

“Well, at least I like fruit,” Gabriel huffed. “That counts for something, right?”

“I’ll take what I can get at this point,” Sam grabbed a few vegetables for himself and some he could sneak in to Gabriel’s food. “Alright. Pick out at least…three different fruit.”

“What are you, my mother?” Gabriel stormed off, but came back as Sam was inspecting heirloom tomatoes with a bag of kiwi, a package of raspberries, and a pint of strawberries.

“I can work with those,” Sam smiled at Gabriel who flushed slightly and looked away.

“Whatever,” Gabriel grumbled. He was startled when Sam grabbed him by the elbow and started to walk with him.

“Come on. Meat is something we can both agree on, right?” Sam assumed, earning a reluctant nod from the man next to him. “How about I make tacos tonight?”

“Wait,” Gabriel perked up. “Tacos? I thought you were gonna make me some healthy shit like an asparagus and brussel sprout salad with no dressing and three cubes of boiled chicken.”

Sam chuckled. “I could, but that’d be kinda gross. Plus, I like tacos.” They stopped in front of the meat section and Sam let go of Gabriel’s arm. “Do you like beef or chicken?”

Gabriel was already missing the warmth of Sam’s arm around his, so he curled them against his chest. “Both. I like chicken better though.”

“Me too,” Sam agreed, grabbing a couple packages of chicken breast. The commonality caused Gabriel to smile. Sam turned back to him. “Can you run and grab the taco kit, and meet me by the dairy?”

“I guess,” Gabriel bit his cheek, not really wanting to stray from Sam’s side. The sooner they got done here, though…the sooner he would get tacos. “Meet you there.” Gabriel ran off toward the ethnic aisle (why Mexican was ‘ethnic’ in a city named San Francisco was beyond him), and quickly located the boxes that had shells and seasoning already in them. He chose the one that sounded the most Mexican-y and started to head toward the dairy. On the way there, he passed the baking aisle, and decided to take a look. After taking a few minutes to waffle on it, he grabbed a couple boxes and frosting, then brought them with him to meet Sam.

Sam felt a weight in his basket and he turned to see Gabriel putting the taco kit and a couple boxes of cake mix in it. “What’s that?” He asked, amused.

“If we’re gonna be using my kitchen for its intended purpose, I insist there be cake,” Gabriel declared.

“Will you make it with me?” Sam requested, waiting for an answer.

Gabriel looked up to see Sam holding out for a response from him. “Yeah,” he replied, giving Sam a soft smile. “I get to lick to spoon.”

Sam laughed. “You got it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel's entire taste in groceries is based on personal experience. Gabriel is a trash person and so am I.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notice the rating change? Mmmhmmmmmmmmmmmm

It didn’t take long for Sam and Gabriel to gather up the rest of their groceries and head back to the apartment, arms laden with bags. Once they got in, Gabriel quickly returned to the couch, exhausted from the effort of just going into public. Sam was left to put away the groceries and sighed when he was done.

“Alright,” Sam turned to Gabriel. “Everything’s put away. Got any plans?”

“What time is it?” Gabriel asked, flopped over the arm of the couch.

Sam took a look at his phone. “Like 9:30?”

Gabriel made a displeased noise. “I’m usually not even out of bed until 1. I’ll decide what I’m doing then.”

“Well, I have class soon, so I’m just gonna grab something there,” Sam informed, moving to grab his messenger bag by the couch.

“You have class?” Gabriel looked up at Sam, frowning. “I thought you were making me breakfast.”

“Well, it’s Wednesday, and I assumed you had something edible. Shopping really cut into cooking time,” Sam reminded him as he went through his bag to make sure he had everything. “I have class tomorrow, too. Can I borrow your key?”

“Wait,” Gabriel scrambled off the couch and stood by Sam, who was already taking the apartment key off of Gabriel’s ring. “How long will you be gone?”

“I should be back around 5,” Sam turned to Gabriel with a smirk. “Why? Will you miss me?”

Gabriel scoffed, turning away to avoid Sam seeing his blush. “No.” He definitely would. “I just wanted to know when I was getting tacos, duh. Don’t flatter yourself.”

“Right,” Sam nodded, knowingly. “Well, I’ll try not to keep your stomach waiting.” He headed to the door and opened it. “I’ll text if anything changes.” In the doorway, he turned and gave Gabriel a little wave before closing the door and heading out.

Gabriel heard Sam’s footsteps fade as he descended down the stairs, and waited until he heard the faint closing of the building door. His stomach growled and he realized how hungry he was. He could manage to make something without Sam. He was a grown man. He had basic domestic skills. You had to know how to boil water to make ramen, after all. Gabriel padded over to the kitchen and opened the fridge. After looking at all the ingredients nervously, he decided that he was obviously just too tired to make anything and pulled a couple hot pockets out of the freezer. After throwing them into the microwave, he went back to the fridge and grabbed a Red Bull. God, he needed caffeine. He popped it open and leaned against the counter, waiting for his hot pockets to finish.

Unsurprisingly, Gabriel’s mind quickly wandered to Sam. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep up trying to push him away. The kiss that they shared was still prominent in his mind and every fiber in his body wanted more. His eyes drifted closed and he imagined Sam coming home, letting Gabriel close the door by shoving his body against it and kissing him breathless. He’d slip a thigh between Sam’s legs and grind against him, feeling him grow harder with each movement. Sam had to be a big boy; no question about that. Gabriel would slide a hand down and palm Sam’s length, knowing it would pull the most delicious moans out of him and Gabriel would--

The microwave beeped and startled Gabriel out of his daydream. He sighed and went to adjust himself in his jeans, but stopped. Sam wouldn’t be back until 5. He had the apartment to himself. 

             Gabriel opened the door of the microwave but closed it back up to stop the beeping, but trap the heat to keep his meal warm. On his way over to the couch, he unbuttoned his jeans and pulled down his fly to relieve some pressure on his half hardness. Once he got there, he sunk down into the cushions and was overwhelmed by Sam’s scent enveloping him. He let out a soft moan and laid sideways on the couch before pushing down his boxers and taking his cock in hand. 

            As he stroked, he continued his daydream, imagining Sam moaning his name as he started to unzip that adorable hoodie he wore. He thought back to that morning when he got a glimpse of Sam shirtless, and thought about running his fingers under Sam’s shirt and across his toned chest. Gabriel bit his lip as he used the precome leaking out of his cock to slick his way. God, he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off of Sam, and he knew it wouldn’t be long until he was dragging Sam to his bedroom. He’d push Sam onto the bed and crawl up the length of his body, marveling at how amazing Sam would look under him. In his fantasy, Sam was already naked and Gabriel was kissing down Sam’s body, humming at the soft praise that would be coming from above.

             A soft moan escaped his lips and his hips bucked up as he grew closer and closer to his climax. Gabriel turned his head and took a deep breath of Sam’s pillow, panting into it as he worked his shaft. Sam was absolutely intoxicating and it was absolute torture keeping away from him. Did he really have to though? Sam obviously liked him. Maybe he wouldn’t be like the others. Maybe he--

            “Gabriel? I forgot my--”

            Gabriel yelped at the door opening and he rolled, falling off the couch onto the floor. “FUCK!”

             “Oh my God, are you…” Sam’s eyes widened as he ran over to see if Gabriel was okay, only to see him stuffing himself back into his jeans. “Were you...doing what I think you were doing?”

             Gabriel turned crimson. “What’s it to you?”

             “On the couch?” Sam huffed. “I sleep there!”

             “Yeah? Well, it’s my couch!” Gabriel argued. “It’s my apartment, Bucko, and I’ll jerk it wherever I damn well please!”

             Sam covered his face with his hand. “I can’t believe you.”

             “Believe it,” Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest. “I have needs and you were  _ supposed _ to be gone. You even said you’d text!”

             “I was barely out the door, and I DID.”

             “Well, you said you’d be back at  _ five _ , not in five  _ minutes _ !”

             “Let me just grab my notes,” Sam walked over to his duffle and pulled out a folder. “And here,” he tossed a t-shirt at Gabriel, “if you want to continue, do it in  _ your _ bed.”

             Gabriel caught the shirt, his mouth hanging open slightly at the fact the Sam  _ knew _ . He couldn’t even manage to utter a goodbye as Sam walked back out the door, smirking. Fuck. This was not good. Gabriel walked over and grabbed his phone off the counter. Sure enough, there was a text from Sam saying that he’d forgotten his notes. He signed and walked back over to the couch, then hesitated before sitting down. Maybe he’d watch TV in his room today. For no other reason than to change up the scenery. Obviously. 

            Gabriel squeezed the shirt clenched in his fist. This was getting ridiculous. He was supposed to be getting under Sam’s skin, not the other way around! Apparently he had to up his game. He smirked. He knew just the thing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone's amazing comments and support. I would love to reply to every one of you, but I'd just end up repeating myself. ❤❤❤


	5. Chapter 5

“So, he hasn’t kicked you out yet?” Cas asked, as Sam rummaged through a box that he had tucked away under his bed.

“He won’t kick me out,” Sam replied confidently, pulling out a pound cake pan and setting it on top of the mattress. “I really think we’re making progress.”

“Catching him masturbating to the smell of your shirt is progress?” Cas rolled over on his bed, ending up on his stomach.

“More progress than you’ve had with my brother,” Sam looked back at Cas and raised an eyebrow, causing Cas to blush.

“That—“ Cas huffed. “There will be no progress, because there is nothing going on. Have you forgotten I’m ace?”

Sam turned back to the box and pulled out a muffin pan. “Ace doesn’t necessarily mean aro. I specifically remember you cuddle-thirsting over the entire rugby team last year.”

“They dogpile already,” Cas shrugged, opening up a text book. “I don’t see why it has to always be aggressive.”

“My point is,” Sam stood up and stretched, “you want to romance the shit out of my brother and you should just go for it.”

It was Cas’s turn to look up at Sam with a raised brow. “I severely doubt Dean will be alright with not having sexual relations.”

Sam put the pans in his backpack, then looked back at Cas. “You might be surprised.” He stepped over to the door and put his hand on the handle. “I mean, Gabriel keeps surprising me.”

Cas registered what name he had said just as he was closing the door behind him. “Wait, did you say Gabriel?”

***

Sam was confident as he walked into Gabriel’s building and made his way up to the apartment. Of course, he hadn’t meant to catch Gabriel like that, but it was incredibly satisfying to know that he still affected the man so much. It wasn’t going to be long before Gabriel cracked, he just knew it. When he got to the apartment door, he noticed an odd smell, but ignored it as he walked in. As he stepped through the doorway, the smell got infinitely stronger and he even had to plug his nose.

“Gabriel?” Sam coughed. “What is that?”

Gabriel walked out of his room, wearing a filtration mask and goggles, and carrying two glasses with paint brushes submerged in some sort of liquid. “Sammy!” His voice was muffled through the mask. “I’m cleaning my paint brushes. Paint thinner works best.”

“And you decided not to open a window?” Sam covered his mouth and nose with the sleeve of his jacket. “Do you have another mask and goggles?”

“Shucks, I’m sorry,” Gabriel apologized, his tone conveying anything but. “I only have the one set.” He set the glasses on the kitchen counter, then pulled his phone out of his pocket. “These have to soak so it’ll probably be like this for another…3 hours or so?”

“How am I supposed to do my homework?” Sam asked, his eyes starting to water a bit from the chemicals.

“The coffee shop is down the street,” Gabriel shrugged. “You’re the one who wanted to stay here.”

Sam clenched the fist he didn’t have up to his mouth, ready to really lay into Gabriel, then came back to himself. So, Gabriel was gonna be like that, huh? Two could play at that. “Alright. So much for tacos.”

Gabriel’s eyes widened. “Wait, what?”

“I can’t make tacos like this,” Sam shrugged. “It’s not safe.”

“I, um…” Gabriel panicked a little and started pouring the thinner down the drain. “It’s okay. The brushes can wait.” He let the water run so that the thinner started dilute even more, then ran over to open the windows in the living area.

“Are you sure?” Sam asked, smiling from behind his sleeve. “I mean, if your painting is really that important to you…”

“You  _ know _ tacos are more important to me,” Gabriel hissed as he went to his bedroom to open the windows there.

Sam could feel the air start to clear and he felt safe enough to lower his sleeve. “So, is that one of your hobbies then? Painting?”

“I guess,” Gabriel pulled off his mask and goggles, then slumped on the couch, defeated. “Haven’t painted in close to a year. Nothing good in a few years.”

“Why did you stop?” Sam asked, setting his bag down and then making his way to the kitchen. He looked down in the sink and saw a swirl of colors bleeding out of the brushes, winding down the drain with the water. Figuring they needed to rinse still, he left them and went to the fridge to pull out what he needed for dinner. 

“No real reason,” Gabriel replied, turning on the television and picking up where they had left off on Hell’s Kitchen. “It just stopped being fun. Not much is fun anymore.”

Sam looked over at Gabriel, and back at his ingredients. “Hey, you said you’d help me make cake, right?”

Gabriel looked up over the back of the couch. “I thought you were making tacos.”

“Oh, my bad,” Sam smirked. “Are you too  _ old  _ to have dessert first?”

“Uh, one, how dare you,” Gabriel huffed, standing up. “Two, let’s make some fucking cake.”

“Grab the pans out of my bag,” Sam pointed to his backpack and Gabriel went to retrieve them.

“You just have cake pans in your backpack?” Gabriel held them up as he walked over to the kitchen. “You sure you’re not in culinary school?”

“Very sure,” Sam assured him. “I stopped by my dorm to pick those up. Now, you grab a bowl and mixing spoon, and I’ll get the ingredients.” When he turned around after grabbing the eggs and oil, he almost burst into laughter at what Gabriel was holding.

“What?” Gabriel frowned, with a tablespoon in one hand and a cereal bowl in the other. “Bowl and spoon. Got it.”

“Not quite,” Sam shook his head, still smiling, and grabbed the items from Gabriel’s hands. He went over to one of the cupboards, pulled down a mixing bowl, and handed it to Gabriel. “Might need to wash that.”

Gabriel looked in the bowl and saw a layer of dust, then grimaced. “I didn’t even know I had this. I could have been using it for like five packs of ramen at a time.”

“That thought is going to haunt my nightmares,” Sam sighed, pulling out a silicone spatula that he had found. “Might as well wash this, too.”

“Oh my God,” Gabriel held up the spatula. “This thing is awesome. I could put Spaghetti-o’s in the bowl, and scoop up all the sauce—“

“No,” Sam held up a hand. “Nope. Those are to be used for baking, and baking only while I am under this roof.”

Gabriel frowned, then moved the still running faucet to the other sink that didn’t have the brushes in it. He got to work washing the dishes, while Sam pre-heated the oven and got all the ingredients ready. It was all so domestic, and Sam found himself smiling the entire time he was prepping the area and pans. Once he was done, he grabbed a towel and held a hand out for the wet dishes.

“So, what cake are we making?” Gabriel asked, handing Sam the bowl.

“Your choice,” Sam motioned to the counter with his head. The three different cake mixes and frostings Gabriel had picked out were sitting on the counter.

“Hmm,” Gabriel twisted his mouth in contemplation. “Confetti with vanilla frosting.”

Sam grinned. “I was hoping you’d choose confetti. It’s my favorite.”

Gabriel looked up at Sam in surprise. “Mine, too.”

“Well, let’s get to baking it then,” Sam set the bowl down in the spot he cleared off, dried the spatula, then shifted over so that Gabriel could be in the prep area also. “Dry ingredients first.” He handed Gabriel the box of cake mix, and hung the towel up as the box was opened.

“Just pour the whole thing in the bowl?” Gabriel looked up and Sam nodded. He shrugged then, with no sense of caution, dumped the entire bag of cake mix in the bowl, causing it to puff up in a cloud of powder. It sent both men into a coughing fit, doubling over and holding the counter to keep balance.

“Maybe,” Sam hacked. “Be a bit more…careful next…time.”

“Noted,” Gabriel squeaked, before coughing again. When the air was finally clear, they stood up, and was glad to find that most of the cake mix was still in the bowl.

“Alright, now,” Sam was about to hand over the eggs, then held back. “Do you—“

Gabriel rolled his eyes and grabbed the eggs. “Jesus Christ, I know how to crack an egg, Samster. I put them in ramen all the time.” He hit one lightly against the counter, then gently opened it into the bowl. “All of them?”

“Yeah, the ones I handed you,” Sam confirmed, then poured out the oil into a measuring cup. “Here. Then, after that’s in, we need two and a half cups of water.”

“Ten-four, good buddy,” Gabriel nodded. Once the oil and water had been put in, Sam gave the spoon to Gabriel to stir all the ingredients together. “This seems a little one-sided…”

“Baking is an important life skill,” Sam smiled. After a bit, he could see Gabriel start to struggle with stirring, and there were still a bunch of lumps in the batter. “Here…” Sam stepped behind Gabriel and reached his hands around him to hold onto the bowl and spatula as well. At first, Gabriel hesitated, but quickly let Sam guide his hands. “Bring the bowl close to you.” Sam said softly into Gabriel’s hair, and pulled the bowl into the crook of their arms. “Better?”

“Y-Yeah,” Gabriel admitted, hyperaware of every single place that Sam’s body was touching his. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting Sam guide his motions as he just took in the feeling of Sam being pressed against him.

“There we are,” Sam cooed. “The lumps are working themselves out, see?”

“What?” Gabriel opened his eyes and heard Sam chuckle against his back. “I mean, yeah, no lumps. Awesome.”

Sam let his eyes drift shut a second to memorize the feeling of Gabriel in his arms, then ducked his head to the side a little to whisper in his ear. “I think it can go in the pan now.”

“I think we can go to bed now, too,” Gabriel mumbled, before realizing what he said and pulling himself away. “I mean, yeah. Pan. Batter in the pan.” He turned back around to Sam, face definitely pinker than intended.

“Want me to do it?” Sam asked, letting Gabriel’s slip go…for now.

“Nah, I’ll do it,” Gabriel decided. “Supposed to be learning, right?” Sam stepped to the side and let Gabriel pour the mix into the pan that Sam had already greased. Surprisingly, there wasn’t much of a mess, and Gabriel was sure to get as much as he could into the pan. Once he was done, Sam grabbed the pan and put it in the oven.

“Alright,” Sam closed the oven door, then set a timer on his phone. “We’ll check on it in a half hour.” When he turned back, Gabriel’s tongue was already licking the spatula. “Dude!”

“What?” Gabriel shrugged. “Did you want some?”

“You could get salmonella from that,” Sam huffed. “Raw eggs?”

Gabriel rolled his eyes and licked again. “I’ve eaten worse, I’m sure.”

“Alright,” Sam grabbed a rag and wet so he could clean up. “You can take yourself to the hospital.”

“Oh, boo hoo,” Gabriel smirked. “Come here. Look at me.”

“What?” Sam turned around and Gabriel reached up and smeared some batter on Sam’s lips, and he licked them instinctively.

“There,” Gabriel stuck his tongue out. “Now you’re getting salmonella with me.”

“You little shit,” Sam grumbled, then swiped some batter out of the bowl and wiped it on Gabriel’s nose.

“Hey!” Gabriel frowned. “I can’t reach it up there.”

Sam smirked. “My bad.” He wiped the batter off of Gabriel’s nose with his finger, then used it to trace Gabriel’s bottom lip.

Gabriel’s tongue darted out to lick Sam’s finger, keeping his eyes on Sam the entire time. “That’s better.”

“Can I have another taste?” Sam edged closer to Gabriel, guiding the bowl out from between them.

“Come and get it,” Gabriel left another streak of batter on his lips and closed his eyes, ready for Sam to take the offering.

Sam leaned down, elated that this was finally happening. He closed his eyes once he got just a couple centimeters from Gabriel’s face. The smell of the batter overwhelmed his senses, but he knew once he got past that, he’d taste Gabriel again. Just a little—

Both men jumped at the sound of Sam’s phone going off, and they moved away from each other. “Sorry, I—“ Sam groaned and pulled his phone out to see it was Cas calling. He walked away from the kitchen and answered. “What?”

“Hmm, you seem upset,” Cas’s voice said through the speaker.

“Well, I am now,” Sam hissed. “What is it? We were having a moment!”

“Yes, about that,” Cas sighed. “I believe you’re currently cohabitating with my cousin.”

Sam turned and looked at Gabriel. “You don’t look alike.”

“Yes, well, regardless, Gabriel is still my cousin,” Cas reiterated.

“Can we get to the part where you tell me why this matters?” Sam huffed.

“Oh my, you already sound like him,” Cas groaned. “Gabriel is not a good person. I know he seems like a fixer-upper, but it’s an impossible job. Gabriel cannot be fixed.”

“Jesus, Cas,” Sam looked over at Gabriel, who had gone back to licking the batter while standing and watching Hell’s Kitchen. “That’s a little harsh.”

“It isn’t. There’s a reason he doesn’t contact the family.”

“Well, what is it?”

“He’s a thief, Sam,” Cas revealed. “A thief and a runaway. I know you’re attracted to him, but you need to stay away and don’t believe anything he tells you about us.”

“What the hell?” Sam turned around and lowered his voice even more. “What did he steal?”

“I have to go,” Cas insisted. “Meeting is starting. Just…be careful, Sam.” The phone beeped to indicate that the call had ended and Sam pulled the phone away from his ear. What was Cas talking about? Was Gabriel really a thief? Sam turned back around to see Gabriel looking at him, smirking.

“Did you still want some?” Gabriel asked, holding up a fingertip full of batter.

“I, uh,” Sam was torn between the insane attraction he had toward Gabriel, and the news he had just received. Maybe Cas was right. He should just be careful. “Nah, I’m good.”

Gabriel’s face dropped and he looked away. “Uh, well, more for me then.” He turned back to the television and Sam’s heart sank. This was going to be torture, but he had no choice. Until he found out the truth, he had to keep his distance from Gabriel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GABRIEL YOU BAD BOY  
> Also maybe I was high and made spaghetti-o's in a mixing bowl once don't judge
> 
> Thanks to everyone for the amazing comments and encouragement. I'm so sorry I don't respond to all of them but I am honestly trying to work on that! ❤❤❤


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay y'all, stop being mad at Cas now.

Gabriel noticed something was wrong with Sam, almost immediately after the call, but decided not to mention it. He had come over and sat down on the couch with him, but it was further apart than usual. Gabriel tried to crack a couple jokes about the chefs, but it was all met with either an unenthusiastic chuckle or silence. It could have been anything. He definitely wasn’t going to dwell on it and assume that it was him like he usually did. The timer for the cake went off and Gabriel jumped a little, staring up at Sam with wide eyes, scared to say anything.

“Are you alright?” Sam asked, confused as he walked over to the kitchen and pulled the cake out of the oven.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Gabriel shook his head and stood up as well. “How’s it look?”

“Good,” Sam nodded, turning off the oven and setting the pot holders on the counter. “We have to wait to frost it, though.”

Gabriel put his hands in his pockets and walked over, slouching a bit. “Hey, um, that call you got earlier,” he bit his lip as Sam finally met his eyes for the first time in the last half hour. “Are you okay? It just seemed like something happened and if you don’t want to talk about it, it’s fine, I just…” he sighed, “I don’t like you moping around, okay?”

Sam broked the eye contact and went over to the fridge. “It’s nothing. Just my roommate being dramatic, I hope.”

“Well, if you need to go check on him or something, I don’t mind waiting for tacos for a bit longer,” Gabriel flashed a small smile.

“No, um, it’s not that kind of thing,” Sam huffed, pulling out the chicken. “Can we just drop it?”

Gabriel’s eyes widened and a shock of anxiety shot up his spine. “Yeah, sure. None of my business anyway.”

Sam sighed and turned to Gabriel. “I’m sorry.” He smiled softly and gestured to the TV. “Go on and relax. Dinner won’t take long.”

“Yeah, okay,” Gabriel smiled back, feeling slightly reassured. He walked back over to the couch and sat down, letting himself get absorbed in Hell’s Kitchen again. Only the smell of seasoned chicken pulled him out of his trance and he looked over the couch to see Sam with his back to him, bent over the stove. Sam seemed to have lost his hoodie a while ago, and Gabriel’s mouth went a little dry looking at his broad shoulders and the thin fabric of his t shirt stretching over them. His almost bare arms didn’t help anything, with them flexing every time Sam grabbed the pan or moved the chicken around as it cooked. God, Gabriel was a fucking idiot. He could have this. He could have Sam cooking for him and he could touch those shoulders and this arms as much as he wanted.

Time to stop being an idiot.

Gabriel stood up and walked behind Sam, letting his hand pass over Sam’s lower back, causing him to stiffen up. “How’s it coming?”

“It’s,” Sam cleared his throat a little and focused on the chicken to control his blush, “it’s good. Just a few more minutes, I think. Will you grab out the cheese and everything?”

“‘Course, sugar,” Gabriel purred, sliding over to the fridge.

“What did you say?” Sam’s voice had raised a little in pitch and Gabriel grinned.

“I said, ‘of course’,” Gabriel closed the fridge door and walked back over to Sam, letting his fingertips brush Sam’s arm, “‘sugar’.”

Sam’s blush was undeniable now, but he shrugged Gabriel’s hand off of him. “It’s just the two of us. You don’t have to do that.”

“Well, maybe I want to,” Gabriel shrugged, reaching in front of Sam and turning off the stove. “I’m starting to think I made a bad choice on Monday and I’d like to fix that.” As he pulled his hand away, he let it brush against Sam’s stomach. “I think dinner can wait a little bit longer, don’t you?”

Sam swallowed thickly and he could feel a significant amount of blood rushing downwards, reacting to Gabriel’s soft touches. “Gabriel, I…” So many thoughts and emotions were warring within him and in the end, all he could do was step away. “I can’t.”

Gabriel frowned. “Why? You’re the one that wanted this!”

“That was before.”

“Before what?” 

“Before I talked to your cousin,” Sam blurted out making Gabriel’s eyes widen. “Castiel. He’s my roommate. He told me to stay away from you cuz—“

“I’m a thief, right?” Gabriel scoffed and turned away running his hand through his hair. “Yeah, he would think that.”

“Is he wrong?” Sam asked, not sure what he wanted the answer to be.

Gabriel turned back to Sam, but stayed looking at the ground. “Listen, let me get you the money. You can just go home and you don’t have to do anything. You never have to see me again.” He started to walk past Sam to his bedroom, but was stopped by Sam grabbing his arm.

“Answer me,” Sam pleaded, turning Gabriel towards him. “Please.”

“I don’t know how,” Gabriel replied. “I stole something, but there’s a lot more to the story.”

“Then tell me,” Sam urged, moving his hand down Gabriel’s arm until he entwined their fingers. “Cas didn’t tell me any details, but it seemed bad and I want to hear your side. I want to make my own decision.”

“Okay,” Gabriel squeezed Sam’s hand a little and flashed a soft smile. “To the couch. This is a doozy.”

Sam led Gabriel over to the couch, hands still clasped together as if he was scared that Gabriel would run off. He sat down and once Gabriel did as well, he let out a small sigh of relief. “Alright.”

Gabriel took a deep breath. “Where do I start?” He looked up and let out a bit of a groan. “Okay, so,” he looked back at Sam, “my family has some money, as I told you. I go by Gabriel Novak, my aunt’s married name, but my actual last name is Shurley.”

“Like the construction empire?” Sam raised his eyebrows.

“One and the same, kiddo,” Gabriel shrugged. “My dad was Charles Shurley, or ‘Chuck’ as most people knew him. When I graduated high school, he wanted me to get a hang of the family business and, like my bros before me, had me head up a large project west of here in Modesto. I was so pumped. I looked up to my brothers so much, and I was ready to prove myself.

“The project was a completely new elementary school to accommodate the growing population. That was another reason I was excited. As crazy as it sounds, I like kids…as long as they’re someone else’s. My brother Lucas came with me to make sure that I didn’t completely fuck up, but I was making most of the decisions. I listened to the school board, met with the mayor, wrote down everything these teachers and kids needed, then came up with a budget. It was a little higher than they expected but, with my gift of gab and my bro’s silver tongue, we got them to agree to the price. I was walking on air, man. My first project and it was going off without a hitch…or so I thought.

“We set up an office there and the first few weeks, things were going smooth as a hot knife through butter. Soon though, there were accidents and workers complaining about the materials. I asked Luci about it, and he just said that it was normal. Workers were always going to complain. But, you know me, I had to be nosy and figure out if this stuff was connected. Luci went out for lunch one day, left his computer open, and I snooped. I found out that the materials that we were supposed to be using were swapped out for much cheaper and lower quality without informing me or the client.

“I confronted my bro when he came back and he laughed. Apparently that was what our family did with all of our projects. All of our money was from scamming clients by using cheaper materials than what they thought we were using. Obviously, I was pissed, but I had no idea what to do about it, so I had to let it go. I’m still so fucking ashamed I never did anything.” Gabriel sighed and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands.

“Eventually, I got back to our home in the city, and I went through and found every piece of incriminating evidence against my family that I could. Once I was sure I had enough, I hid it away, then let my family know what I had. I gave them a choice. I could expose everything and burn our family fortune to the ground, or they could let me out, give me an allowance, and I’d keep quiet. They agreed, dad died a few months later, Mike and Luci are running everything,” Gabriel gestured outward with his hands, “and, here I am.”

“So, you’re blackmailing your family, but for a good reason,” Sam determined. “Why does Cas think you’re so bad?”

“I’m guessing they told him some bull about how horrible of a son I am and how I was the one that forced my dad to an early grave,” Gabriel posited. “I just never had it in me to tell him any different.”

“You should tell him,” Sam placed a hand on Gabriel’s thigh. “Even if you aren’t ready to expose everything, Cas deserves to know the truth.”

Gabriel sighed and set his hand on top of Sam’s. “Yeah,” he looked up at Sam and smiled. “Yeah, I think you’re right.”

**Author's Note:**

> Talk to me about Gabriel! (Or Hell's Kitchen because damn I'm addicted)  
> Tumblr: @archangelsanonymous  
> Twitter: @Pattypixie


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